1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bone plates, and, more particularly, to a provisional bone plate for determining the appropriately sized bone plate for a particular application.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to utilize bone plates in osteosynthesis. For example, the periarticular plating system available from Zimmer, Inc. is useful in osteosynthesis of periarticular bones. Known bone plates are used to maintain discrete portions of a fractured or otherwise severed bone substantially stationary relative to one another to, e.g., reduce a fracture and facilitate healing of the bone.
Periarticular bones typically include a shaft with a head at either end. The heads of periarticular bones have an enlarged periphery relative to the periphery of the bone shaft to provide a larger load bearing surface at the bone end. Known bone plates attach to both the head and the shaft of the bone to maintain the head substantially stationary relative to the shaft. With this in mind, known bone plates include an elongate portion for attachment to the bone shaft, and a flared head portion for attachment to the bone head. The contour of a bone plate is made to match the contour of the bone to which it will be attached either before or during the implantation procedure. For example, the Zimmer periarticular plating system provides pre-countered bone plates for affixation to certain aspects of particular periarticular bones. Moreover, the Zimmer periarticular plating system provides a family of plates for each bone aspect, with each plate in a family having a different shaft length. Straight bone plates are utilized for traditional non-periarticular fractures.
When treating a bone fracture, a surgeon must choose a bone plate applicable to the fractured bone and to the particular bone aspect requiring osteosynthesis. Once the type of bone plate has been chosen, the appropriate size must next be chosen. A shorter bone plate may be more suitable in those instances where the fracture location is located close to the joint, and also when the extra length of plate to be implanted would necessitate a longer incision than may be necessary. Having a plate that is longer than required to treat the fracture in question is more expensive in terms of both plate expense and surgical time. To chose the ideal bone plate length, a surgeon will typically utilize a plate that is just long enough to bridge the fracture and provide fixation points on the shaft of the bone on either side of the fracture.
In the past, surgeons would open a bone plate from the appropriate family and place it against the bone to test for appropriate size. If the surgeon determined that a longer or shorter bone plate was required, then another bone plate would be removed from its packaging and placed against the bone. This procedure was repeated until an appropriately sized bone plate was chosen. Utilizing this trial and error procedure increases the costs of the surgical procedure because multiple bone plates must be purchased.
What is needed in the art is a provisional bone plate useful for choosing an appropriately sized implantable bone plate for reducing a fracture.